If rejected for third party, it was rejected by human reviewers and not ML. It’s unfortunate - and wrong - it was rejected for that reason. There also has to be some caution there. If “you” share photos, “I” could maliciously use them to nominate.
I don’t think that’s the norm, though, and I don’t think we should talk much more on potential abuse methods. I do think it’s great advice to see as clear of an example of what somebody will nominate when they have questions BEFORE wasting their time and reviewer time.
Yes, posting example photos of a POI that someone is thinking about nominating is something that’s not an issue, but posting photos that one may use for a nomination could be an issue.
Both the community and the appeals team had rejected the nomination, all because I had posted the original photos in the forums. I posted that I disagreed with this, and staff reversed the decision. It’s not something anyone ideally would want to do, as it could be such a pain to deal with.
Sometimes it’s better to be a little more cautious, especially if there could be a chance of a headache down the road.
And saying people are spiteful while reviewing, well, I wouldn’t say they have spite. No reviewer knows who submits any of the nominations, so a little hard to be spiteful in that sense. Others may just not agree that certain nominations should be Wayspots, and that’s not really spite, that’s more of a disagreement. Some may not fully know all of the criteria and eligibility, so this is more of a case where some education would be helpful.
Simply rejecting a nomination because one really doesn’t like it personally I don’t think is happening often. Yes, I have had some people say they wouldn’t approve some murals I’ve nominated before because they don’t like them, but with art being subjective, they have a right to not like a mural, but if that mural meets criteria, they shouldn’t be rejecting it because of their personal, subjective feelings. This was a case where some education may have helped the reviewer look less subjectively while reviewing and remember to follow the criteria.